The Darkness Before the Dawn
by Nymphadora-CullenBAU
Summary: L.A is in chaos, and the BAU is scattered throughout the city. Can they stop their current UnSub before he strikes again? Rated T for now, may go up later. Chapter 6 now up! COMPLETE!
1. BogeyMan

**_I know that the Season Six premiere is a little over a month out, but I'm dying to know what happens when Season Six actually comes out. So I decided to write my own verison. Basically, this is what I think will happen September 22 (and if it doesn't, that's fine with me!)._**

**_I don't own Criminal Minds; if I did, I'd have had Daniel Radcliffe guest star on an episode by now. And there'd be crossovers with NCIS and White Collar in the works._**

….

_Fear grows in darkness; if you think there's a bogeyman around, turn on the light. ~ __Dorothy Thompson_

Derek Morgan listened to the heart-wrenching cries that continued to emit from Kristin Spicer's location in the room as he struggled to break the duct tape bindings on his ankles. Just a moment ago, the UnSub that the BAU team had been profiling with her brother Matt Spicer, and his comrade Detective Eric Kurzbard had fled out the door of the house, taking Matt Spicer's daughter with him as a hostage. Spicer himself lay unresponsive on the ground not two feet from Morgan; as far as he knew, Spicer was dead, shot down in the line of duty.

Like Morgan's own father.

He shook his head; this wasn't then, this was now. Maybe Spicer was alive. And if he was, he, Morgan, had to contact the team, tell them where he was, and make them send an ambulance.

Morgan's attempts to rip the tape doubled. He kicked his bound feet against the carpet, then against the footboard of the bed he lay at the foot of. Finally, he began twisting his lower body, trying to get his handcuffed hands in front of him.

"What are you doing?" Kristin's voice cried out.

"Give me… a second…" Morgan panted, wincing at the strain of his arms stretching over his bound feet.

And then…

Morgan's eyes widened when his arm finally came up in front of him, and a slight swoop of joy filled his stomach. He smiled, despite the severity of the situation.

_Now for that blasted tape… _He thought.

His finger scrabbled at the thick binding, noticing that his seemingly fruitless attempts at struggling had resulted in some strain on the corner of the edge of tape that was wrapped around his ankles. It was at the site of that single strained binding that he began pulling, tugging and fighting with until…

It gave. Just a little, but it gave.

Morgan took pride in that small victory. He moved his fingers toward the edge of the tape, digging into the groove made from the edge of the piece the strip of tape had been ripped from. He dug into it, peeling it back as quickly as it would allow. It was slow going, but it was quicker than straining against the tape. He rested his head against the footboard.

He just hoped that the others would arrive soon.

**_CM _S6_**

On a less populated, less cluttered street, a large, black Federal-issue SUV barreled through the suburban streets. Following it, at a similar speed was an LAPD unmarked squad car, also dark in color. At the wheel of the larger vehicle was SSA David Rossi, his face set in a dark, thin, grim line.

"Have you reached him yet?" He asked, glancing at his partner in the seat next to him.

In the passenger seat, SSA Dr. Spencer Reid shook his head, pressing the 'end' button on his phone for what felt like the hundredth time that night. "It's the lack of power in the city," he replied, looking about ready to throw his phone out the window. "I can't get reception unless the cell towers have power. No one can."

Rossi cursed under his breath, and then reached for the police radio under the dashboard.

Behind them, Detective Eric Kurzbard and JJ followed the speeding SUV. Kurzbard picked up the handheld portion of the radio as it crackled.

"Where do you think Morgan and Spicer could be?" Rossi asked from the speaker.

Kurzbard shrugged. "We can assume he isn't at Kristin's house, and we know he's not at Matt's."

"Well, we better think of something," Rossi demanded.

Meanwhile, Reid sat in the front seat, his genius brain whirling as he thought of where this UnSub could be…

And then it came to him.

"Detective Kurzbard," Reid shouted suddenly. "Where was Matt Spicer's childhood home?"

Kurzbard, clearly taken by surprise, rattled off the address from memory. "Whay are you getting at, Doctor Reid?" he asked, confused.

"The location that the UnSub took Ellie and Kristin would have to have significance to both Spicer and the UnSub himself," Reid reasoned. "The current residences of both Spicer and his sister would have no meaning to the UnSub. But the place where their paths crossed, where the UnSub killed Spicer's parents and thereby changed his life forever, that is the place that will hold the most significance to the UnSub, and that will be where he took Ellie and Kristin."

"And that's where Morgan and Spicer went," Rossi and Kurzbard concluded.

"Well, done, Agent Reid," Rossi praised.

"Where is he from again?" Kurzbard asked.

"Las Vegas." Rossi replied.

"Huh," Kurzbard reflected.

Neither party got a chance to say anything else, for at that moment, a grungy, rusty-looking camper van slammed headfirst into the SUV. A moment later, the cop car also drove into the SUV.

For a moment after the smoke cleared and everything was silenced after the crashes, there was a moment of calm. Then, the driver's side door of the camper van opened, revealing the UnSub. He calmly walked over to the two other cars, an evil, sadistic grin on his face. He glanced in for a moment before opening the passenger side door of the SUV and cutting the seatbelt away from the person in the car. Then, the UnSub dragged his unresponsive victim from the car and to his own van, tossing him unceremoniously into the back. It only took a moment for the UnSub to start his car, reverse away from the scene and drive away.

...

_A/N: So this is going to be my first try at Reid whump... Please don't hurt me! It's just a test; one that I'll most likely fail miserably._

_So please please review (and go check out some of my other stories; I have one that is entered into a contest that The-Vampire-Act has up that could use some loving...)_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	2. Fear

_**I just finished watching this thing on ABC about how the makeup of our brains can determine how we behave… They interviewed this guy who I just saw last night while watching a Criminal Minds rerun (5x08, and it was the guy from the conference we saw Reid attending at the beginning of the episode). It was pretty cool, very informative.**_

_**Again, I own nothing!**_

….

_You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you. ~ __James Anthony Froude_

Hotch glanced around at the pileup of traffic for the seemingly hundredth time. The SUV that he and Prentiss were in had hardly moved an inch since the power had gone out due to the congestion on the freeway, and it annoyed the two agents to no end.

He glanced at Prentiss, who was trying to get a reach on Rossi, JJ, Morgan, Reid… anyone who could help them in this moment.

And then the dispatch radio crackled to life.

"Two, possibly three-car pileup in lower service division, just outside Santa Monica. Two police vehicles, one unidentified civilian vehicle. A police sedan, a Federal vehicle and an unidentified civilian vehicle. Calling all units, repeat, calling all units."

**_CM _S6_ **

Reid groaned as he surfaced back to consciousness, his head throbbing, his body aching and… a small hand on his cheek.

"Are you alright?" a child's voice asked.

Reid blinked as the little girl came into focus, wincing as the pain in his head seemed to double. He tried to move his arms, only to realize that they were tied tightly in front of him with a strip of duct tape. His ankles were also bound in a similar fashion.

"Where," he rasped, coughing slightly as he tried to sit up. "Where are we? W-who are you?"

"I'm Ellie," she whispered. "Ellie Spicer."

"Ellie, that's a pretty name. I'm Spencer," he whispered. "I was working with your dad today. Do you know where he is?"

Ellie shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears. "I don't know," she whispered. "My dad… the guy shot him. And the other man…"

"Wait," Reid whispered. "What other man?"

"He was tall," she described. "Muscular, dark-skinned. He was bald. Dad called him 'Morgan.'"

"SHUT UP!" a voice roared. Reid and Ellie jumped. Reid shift his body as best he could, and saw a man sitting in the front seat of the vehicle, a cigarette in his mouth, clamped between a set of very nasty teeth.

Reid's stomach dropped down to his toes _Morgan! _He thought desperately. _This sick, twisted son of a bitch knew where Morgan was. And Spicer._ Reid cringed; he desperately hoped nothing bad had happened to his friend and fellow profiler, or the young cop whom Reid had met only a day ago.

_I need to get Ellie and I out of here,_ he mused to himself, watching as the little girl curled up into a corner of the van. _But how do I do that, especially when I can barely move._

"Ellie," he whispered, and the girl turned to him, surprised. "Does that man in the front seat have something sharp? Like a knife, or a pair of scissors?"

"He had a knife when he took my Aunt Kristin and me," she whispered. "He keeps it in his pocket, I think."

Reid raised his head, and winced at the sudden spell of dizziness that overcame him. He definitely had a concussion, but it was most likely a mild one; he hadn't vomited, but then again, there were no bright lights that he could see at the moment.

"WHAT did I TELL YOU?" The man hollered, and Reid felt the van skid to a stop. A second later, he heard footfalls as the UnSub came charging back to the profiler and little girl in the back. He grabbed Ellie and forced her off the ground, making her stand up. She whimpered, sobbing and shaking her head as she pleaded with him.

"Let us go, please let us go."

Instead, the UnSub traced his finger down her cheek, muttering something that Reid couldn't quite catch. Ellie's eyes spilled over with more tears.

Suddenly, Reid realized how close he was to the UnSub's leg, and he acted. He kicked out at the man, his bound feet hitting him squarely in the knee.

"ELLIE, MOVE!" Reid shouted, rolling over from his back onto his stomach and sinking his bound fists into the man's side. The UnSub roared, flailing out as he tried to get the upper hand.

"RUN, ELLIE!" Reid screamed. "RUN!"

Ellie didn't need to be told twice. She flung the door of the van open and ran down the street, screaming for help. Reid, meanwhile, began fumbling in the man's pocket, cutting his hand on the blade of a knife, which he pulled from the man's pocket. A second later, however, a fist hit him in the face, and Reid fell back, dazed. Using the knife, which had still managed to stay in his grasp, he began sawing through the duct tape around his wrists, finally pulling them apart with as much strength as he could muster.

As he sat up to begin his legs, Reid's eyes fell of the UnSub, who was just getting to his feet. "You little bugger!" The UnSub screamed, lunging for Reid. The profiler rolled out of the way, tucking into his body and minimizing the amount of potential target as much as possible. Then, he sliced through the tape on his legs and rose to his feet, the knife held outward like a sword in the profiler's hand.

The UnSub chuckled. "What are you gonna do with that?" he leered. "Are you gonna slice me like a pig, boy?"

Reid ignored the taunts. "Don't come any closer," he shouted. "My name is Spencer Reid, and I am with the FBI. Do you know what that means?"

The UnSub regarded him for a second. "The people on television talked about you," he pointed out. "You seem easier to beat than that other agent. The one who came in with the Spicer kid."

"He's one of my colleagues, yes," Reid replied. "And I'm telling you right now that if you've hurt him in any way, you will go to jail for a very long time."

The UnSub laughed. "Well, maybe we can come to an arrangement," he pointed out. "I didn't hurt your friend."

"How can I believe that?" Reid asked. "You kidnapped a little girl, the daughter of a police officer. And you may have killed her father. You tie up a Federal Agent, and kidnap a second one. How do I know you aren't lying, or planning to kill me?"

The other man shrugged. While they had been talking, he had been walking closer to the younger man, a single step with every question the boy had asked, and the UnSub had answered. Now, he lunged toward the young agent.

Reid had not expected this, but still managed to leap out of the way, toward the open door of the van. He saw Ellie Spicer standing halfway down the street, looking back toward him.

"GO!" Reid shouted, leaping from the van and stumbling as he landed. "RUN, ELLIE!"

Neither of them stopped as the UnSub cam tearing out of the van after them. They just ran.

….

_A/N: I based the events of the whole second half of this chapter on a preview I saw Sunday night on A&E of what APPEARED to be Season 6 (the preview was shown halfway through the episode being aired that night, which was 'Public Enemy' (5x15) I believe). If anyone also saw this preview, please tell me, and send a link if you can find it online._

_Thanks for all the awesome reviews! I'm thankful for all the support here. You all rock! Please leave more!_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	3. Rust Upon the Knife

_**Hey Faithful Readers! Here's the next chapter for you!**_

_**I also go back to school in a week from today (Sunday), so I probably won't touch anything until after I go back; my laptop needs servicing (You know, spyware check).**_

_**Again, I own nothing pertaining to Criminal Minds, except for a T-shirt I bought a few weeks ago with the cats on the front; I'm planning on taking it to college with me!**_

….

_It is not work that kills men; it is worry. Worry is rust upon the blade. ~ __Henry Ward Beecher_

Hotch and Prentiss stepped from the SUV to find complete chaos. Police cars, ambulances, EMTs and neighbors congested the streets, making passage for any vehicles almost impossible.

Hotch saw the cars first and ran toward them, his badge flashing at whoever was within shouting distance. "FBI, move!"

Kurzbard met them halfway between the crash and their own SUV. "Son of a bitch came from nowhere," he began. "He crashed into us nearly had-on, and I blacked out, maybe for a couple minutes. When I woke up, I heard Agent Rossi yelling," Kurzbard took a breath to continue.

"Hotch! Emily!" Rossi called from a nearby ambulance.

"Talk to Dave," Hotch told Emily before turning to Kurzbard; Prentiss heard his faintly ask about JJ. Ignoring it, Emily ran to Rossi.

"How bad is it?" she asked him.

"I'm fine," Rossi growled. "Listen…"

"You're NOT fine," she pointed out. "There's a big gash over your eye, and from the way you're cradling your arm, I'd say it's been sprained." She looked around; something was missing, she realized. Or, more accurately, some_one_. "Where's Reid?"

Dave shook his head. "That's what I was trying to tell you," he replied bitterly. "When we crashed, I must've been knocked out by something for a moment, because when I came around, I saw the UnSub stuffing something into his van, and Reid was missing from the passenger seat."

"W-what?" Prentiss asked.

"The UnSub has Reid." Rossi confirmed grimly.

Prentiss nearly released a stream of curse words, but held them in for the sake of her injured supervisor, and her boss, who was heading their way with Kurzbard. Upon hearing Rossi's statement about the UnSub and Reid, Hotch's already grim face turned sour; only the other two agents could see the fear and horror in the man's eyes. Emily understood; this wasn't the first time Reid had been kidnapped by a man they were hunting. She could still remember the two nights the team had spent in a broken down farmhouse in rural Georgia, searching for Reid while he was held against his will by Tobias Hankel. Unlike then, though, they were racing against the clock; who knew what this guy was doing to their young genius.

Kurzbard took the moment to relay a report an officer had received. "There's a report of gunshots and screams a few blocks over, thought we should check it out." He muttered. "We didn't think much of it before, but since it's possible that our guy was here, maybe we should check it out." Hotch nodded, ushering Prentiss, JJ and Kurzbard to the SUV while Rossi was transported to the hospital.

**_CM _S6_**

Morgan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the door slam open and the sound of voices yelling "FBI!" and "LAPD!"

"We're in here!" Morgan yelled in reply. "We need medics!"

"Morgan?" Hotch's voice was followed by the man himself, Kurzbard and Prentiss right behind him. Immediately, the Unit Chief ran to his sub-ordinate, while Kurzbard checked the room, calling "Clear," before heading to Kristin, who had started crying in relief.

"It's alright, honey," he whispered as he embraced her, rocking her gently in his arms.

"Check Spicer," Morgan ordered, nodding to the fallen police officer in the corner. JJ went over to him, holstering her gun in the process.

"No need, JJ," Prentiss said quietly. "It was a fatal shot. There's no way he would've survived."

Morgan sighed; Prentiss' words had only confirmed his worst thoughts. Moments later, the medics that had arrived with the others confirmed what Prentiss had just described. Morgan relaxed when Hotch unbound his arms and legs, shaking and moving them to restart the blood flow before looking around the room for a moment.

"Hey Hotch," Morgan asked suddenly; there was a pit in his stomach, a reminder of what had been done to Spicer, who was now being wheeled from the room, a sheet covering his body. "Where's Rossi and Reid?"

"Rossi's in the hospital," Prentiss answered. "There was a car accident a few streets over; Rossi, Reid, JJ and Kurzbard were caught up in it."

"What about Reid?" now Morgan was concerned; he had to make sure the kid was alright. He wouldn't be able to live with himself it something had happened….

"Reid's missing," Hotch replied grimly. "We assume the UnSub took him."

Morgan cursed as the medics checked him over. "That sick son of a bitch took Ellie Spicer and now he has Reid?" He asked. "We need to find them. Now." _I promised Spicer I'd keep Ellie alive,_ Morgan thought. _And I'm not giving up on that promise. And…_ Morgan's thoughts turned to his young friend and fellow agent._ I don't want another repeat of Georgia. None of us do. I'm not letting some Hankel wannabe pour salt into wounds that have been closed for so long._

"Morgan, you need medical attention," Hotch replied.

"I want to help, Hotch," Morgan cried. "I know what the guy looks like, I know what he could do to Reid. And I dunno about you, but I do NOT want a repeat of Georgia. Or have you forgotten?"

Hotch looked pained as he looked at Morgan. "No," he replied after a moment. "I-I don't want a repeat of Georgia. I haven't forgotten Georgia, and I never will forget Georgia, Morgan. But you need help. We'll find Reid, I promise."

**_CM _S6_**

His feet hurt, his chest hurt… He was so tired.

But he had to keep going. _They _had to keep going.

"Come on, Ellie," he gasped, pushing her ahead of him. She clung to his hand, pulling him along as they ran. Up ahead, Reid saw a dumpster pulled up against an alley wall, the space between the green receptacle and the wall of the building hidden in shadow.

"Come on," he whispered, towing the little girl toward the alley. "In here."

They ducked into the small corner space, Ellie first and Reid last. They crouched in the shadows, trying to catch their breaths.

Ellie reached a hand to Reid's face. "Spencer," she whispered. "You're bleeding.

"I'm fine," Reid whispered. "It's nothing, Ellie. Don't worry about me." He touched his forehead, feeling around until he felt the wet, sticky blood on his fingertips. It was either from the UnSub or from the crash; it was most likely the crash, though. He winced slightly, wiping his fingers on his pant leg.

They paused, listening to the sounds of a man running, the grunts and groans of someone who usually didn't chase his prey, but hunted them in the dark, when they were most vulnerable. He ran by their hiding place, the sound of his exertion growing fainter as he continued down the street.

Ellie curled up closer to Reid, her body shaking. "I'm scared, Spencer," she whispered, burying her head into his shirt.

"Me, too, Ellie," he replied, awkwardly wrapping his arms around her and rubbing her back in a comforting manner. "Me, too."

….

_A/N: I was listening to Death Cab for Cutie while writing an author's note, and I now have "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" in my head… I like it!_

_And like the song, I like reviews. So… Pretty Please? Just click the little highlighted link just south of here, and tell me what you liked (or didn't like) about this. And check out some of my other stories. It'll make me happy…_

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	4. The Hands of the Law

**_Again, I own nothing! It's all CBS (And I'm REALLY looking forward to Season 6) :D_**

….

_Criminals do not die by the hands of the law; they die by the hands of other men. ~__George Bernard Shaw_

**_Beeeeep_**

**_The number you have dialed is not available at this time…._**

"Shut up!" Garcia cried, slamming the government-issue office phone repeatedly into the cradle that usually housed it. "I do NOT have time for this," she cried, her voice breaking. She had been trying to reach her babies for so long that she was starting to wonder if something had happened. Desperately, she fled to the empty bullpen, grabbed the remote and flipped on the television. Instantly, she heard and saw the grim news.

_"In an effort to stop the Prince of Darkness, a serial killer who has been running rampant in the city for the last couple days, the FBI suspended the rolling blackouts in Los Angeles, only to have the power grid fail. As of right now, there is no power in L.A…."_

Garcia screeched in dismay, drawing the attention of two of the night guards and the janitor vacuuming around Reid's desk. Then she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the first number she could think of. Someone HAD to answer… Anyone…

**_Beeeeep_**

**_The number you have dialed is not available at this time…._**

**__CM _S6__**

Reid rested his head against the side of the dumpster and sighed. His eyelids threatened to fall closed on his tired eyes, and no matter how hard he fought, they would keep threatening to fall closed. Ellie had fallen asleep in his arms not five minutes ago, and he could feel her twitching in her sleep, muttering softly as she dreamed.

No child should have to see nightmares such as what she had gone through. Their dreams should be filled with the likes of… Well, not this.

Reid hadn't had a normal childhood, and that had caused him to miss out on various opportunities afforded to young children. Like summer camps, movie nights, sleepovers, a first date… And this job didn't allow him to have much of a social life outside of whatever club the team visited to have drinks, and the occasional night out to dinner at a restaurant together. But they managed.

Reid shifted his arm, the one that was not cradling Ellie's head, to check his watch. 1:23 am. He dropped his arm, sighing heavily. It was getting to be a long night. But their UnSub hadn't shown his face yet, so it looked as though things would be fine for the time being. He hoped.

"Ellie," he whispered, shaking the young girl asleep on his chest in a half-hearted attempt to wake her. "Hey, Ellie, I need you to wake up for me, okay? Please? I need you to wake up so we can find my friends. They can help us." Instead, she moaned, mumbling something in her sleep, but didn't answer his whispered pleas.

Reid glanced down at the sleeping girl; she looked so peaceful lying there, he really didn't want to disturb her. Instead, he gathered her into his arms and inched his kneeling figure slowly out from behind the dumpster. As soon as the fresh night air hit him, Reid stood up, shifting Ellie's sleeping figure to rest higher up in his arms. She mumbled, shifting her body in response.

"It's alright," he whispered. "I'll get you out of here. I promise."

**_CM _S6_**

Bryce Franks had awoken earlier that night to the power and electricity in his house shutting off. Angrily, he had gone to the fuse box to check the breakers, only to discover that they appeared to be in perfect working condition, apart from the obvious. Now, he stood fuming in his front yard. He had gone shopping earlier that week, and most of his food stores consisted of frozen goods, of which he had no doubt were thawing out now.

He glared down the street, in time to see what appeared to be the figure of a young man in disheveled business wear. Either that, or he was an easily distracted college professor, or prep student. Bryce also noticed that the young man was carrying something in his arms, which when the figure set it down, appeared to be a little girl.

Bryce started walking over to them, intrigued, when suddenly the sound of squealing breaks broke the silence of the nearly-empty street. Bryce looked up to see a camper van peeling around the corner of the street, which suddenly came to a halt in front of Bryce himself. It stood there for a moment before it opened, revealing a dirty looking older man holding a knife and gun.

Bryce backed away, hands up. "Look, man," he began in a reasonable voice. "I dunno what the hell I did, but this," he gestured out to the street in general. "This wasn't me. I swear. I'm betting it was that Prince of Darkness fellow. I- What are you doing? No… NO!"

A second later a gunshot echoed through the street, and Bryce Franks crumpled into a heap at the foot of his driveway, his sightless eyes staring into the dark sky.

The UnSub lowered the smoking gun, and smirked when he finally saw his quarry just down the street.

**_CM _S6_**

The police radio in the vehicle Spicer and Morgan had arrived at the house in crackled to life.

_Shots fired on the corner of Orange and Mango. Civilian down, suspect chasing two other civilians. Repeat, shots fired on the corner of Orange and Mango_

Prentiss ripped the mike from the box. "This is Special Agent Emily Prentiss with the FBI. Can you elaborate that report for me?"

_Shots fired on the corner of Orange and Mango. There is one civilian down, and the suspect is chasing two other civilians._

"What did the civilians look like?"

_One was female, about eight to ten years of age, maybe older. Long black hair, wearing pajamas._

"What about the other civilian?"

_Male, age 28 to 30, about 6 feet 1 inch, with short, curly brown hair, thin, wearing a business shirt and pants._

"Ten-four," Prentiss replied, hanging up the speaker and looking over her shoulder. "HEY, GUYS!" she yelled. "I think I found Reid and Ellie!"

….

_A/N: So I have the story itself written up and finished; I just need to post it to the site, obviously. _

_And…Remember that contest I entered, the one about the Criminal Minds ladies that The-Vampire-Act did this summer? Well… Apparently… I kinda, sorta… well… Won it… heh heh! **blushes**… It's a real honor! Thanks to The-Vampire-Act for putting up the contest, and thanks to everyone who voted for me! You all rock! :D_

_And thanks to everyone who reviewed; you are all absolutely amazing. I'm sorry if I haven't been paying attention; I've been busy moving into my dorm room and starting classes. And did anyone catch where I got the name Bryce Franks? It has something to do with a minor Harry Potter character; he dies at the beginning of 'Goblet of Fire.' _

_Please continue sending me your awesome reviews! :D _

_*~N_CBAU~* _


	5. Hope

_**So... The story is that I'm putting this chapter up now (During the weekend), and the final chapter wil be posted either late Tuesday evening, or early Wednesday morning, depending on my work ethic when it comes to homework, and if I'm up to posting a chapter between Classical Mythology and Philosophy (Which I probably will be; I just need to remember to actually post the darn thing instead of reading... What can I say? Some of these stories... Very addidcting).**_

_**Warning for Whump! ...It's quite had to write it, especially because there's an extremely handsome picture of Matthew on my desktop, so please bear with me. (...Poor Spence) **whimper** **_

_**I own nothing pertaining to Criminal Minds! **_

**….**

_Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings. ~ Elie Weisel_

"Ten-four," Prentiss replied, hanging up the speaker and looking over her shoulder. "HEY, GUYS!" she yelled. "I think I found Reid and Ellie!"

At the sound of Prentiss' voice, Morgan looked up. "You found them?" he asked.

"I think so," Prentiss replied.

Hotch was ready. "Kurzbard, Prentiss, JJ, you're with me," he yelled as he ran to the car.

Morgan hopped down from the Ambulance. "You're not leaving me out of this, Hotch," he said. "I'm coming, too."

"No," Hotch replied. "You are going to the hospital."

"Screw the hospital, I'm fine," Morgan replied.

"You will go to the hospital, Morgan, and that's final!" Hotch demanded.

Morgan stared his supervisor in the eye. "I made a promise to Spicer," he growled. "I promised him that I would find his daughter, and that I would keep her safe." His eyes blazed. "Not to mention a member of my own family is out there. I haven't forgotten Georgia. I know you haven't either, Hotch. This guy is even worse than Hankel, and if he's got Reid, God only _knows _what that son of a bitch is doing to the boy." Morgan was glaring at Hotch now, fire in his eyes. "I'm going, for Ellie, for Spicer, and for Reid. And so help me God, don't you try to stop me, Hotch."

The older agent looked at his sub-ordinate for a moment before nodding. "But once this is over, you _will _go to the hospital, Morgan." Hotch replied. "And that's an order."

Morgan nodded once before slipping into the SUV with the others.

**_CM _S6_**

Ellie had finally woken up a few minutes ago and until recently had been riding on Reid's back, piggy-back style. Now, as they reached the foot of a hill leading to an empty street, Reid set her down, and she took his hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Reid shook his head, glancing around. "I don't know, Ellie," he admitted. "Right now I want to see if anyone here has power. I need to call my friends. They can't find us if they don't know where we are."

Ellie nodded, gripping his hand tightly. A second later, she let it go, terror etched in her face.

"Spencer," she cried. "It's him! The bad guy!"

Reid looked up in time to see the UnSub running down the street toward them, the echo of a gunshot preceding his arrival. Farther back, Reid could see the camper van, and the crumpled body of a man in a driveway.

Despite his physical body type, the UnSub was clearly going very fast. Reid wasted no time.

"Ellie, listen to me," he ordered, taking her arm and looking into her eyes. "I want you to run as fast as you can down the street, making as much noise as possible. And whatever happens, don't stop. Promise you won't stop running?"

She nodded.

"Good," Reid replied. "Now go! And don't stop!"

And with that, Ellie turned and ran, her bare feet pounding the pavement as she screamed. "HELP ME!"

Meanwhile, Reid turned to face the UnSub, who immediately collided with the young profiler. Reid acted quickly, shoving at the man. But his efforts were wasted as the UnSub ripped the boy's arms behind his back. Reid yowled, his foot kicking back in an effort to harm the UnSub in return.

"Stop struggling," the UnSub ordered, leaning closer to his captive, and breathing in the young man's face. "It'll hurt less." Reid snarled wordlessly in reply; the man's breath smelled of cigarettes, smoke and foul breath.

"Just remember you brought this on yourself," the UnSub chided, right before slamming Reid's head into the pavement. The younger man lay stunned for a moment, until he heard the sound of metal handcuffs locking themselves onto his wrists. Immediately, Reid bit his lip in order to keep from whimpering; all he could think of was a shack in Georgia, vials of drugs, pain and fear.

**_CM _S6_**

Hotch was driving at speeds of at least 80, eyes blazing. In the passenger seat sat Kurzbard, his hand already on his sidearm. In the backseat sat Morgan, Prentiss and JJ, the two women sitting on either side of the man, who was slightly fuming, his nostrils flaring.

As they turned a corner, Hotch slammed on the breaks, the vehicle jarring to the side. Morgan looked up to see Ellie Spicer, running as fast as she could, sobbing. JJ quickly opened the door and slipped out, Morgan right behind her.

"Ellie!" he cried. "Ellie, it's me, Morgan. It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you."

"He's got Spencer!" she wailed. "He has Spencer. I-I think he's gonna… I think…"

Morgan cursed, pulling out his sidearm and running back the way Ellie had come, Hotch, Prentiss and Kurzbard following from behind moments later.

**_CM _S6_**

Reid moaned as the knife trailed its way down his arm for the seemingly 100th time that night. His tie had been shoved into his mouth in order to keep him from screaming after the first attacks from the UnSub's knife.

The UnSub himself hadn't even pulled the profiler back into his van; instead, the killer sat by the front wheel of his van, Reid held tightly in his grasp, his body resting between the older man's knees. The younger man's hands were restrained behind his back with his own handcuffs, and his feet scuffed the pavement with every shallow slash the UnSub made.

Reid let out a muffled gasp as the UnSub suddenly began chopping at his hair, yanking and cutting the boyish curls off with precision. Reid immediately began struggling again, his muffled, garbled protests evidently lost in the night, and the folds of his tie.

"Shhhh…" the UnSub soothed as he continued his task.

"Drop the knife!" a voice yelled suddenly.

"Hrmmmph!" Reid cried in surprise and relief.

Hotch moved forward slowly, his gun poised to shoot in his outstretched hand.

"Let my agent go," Hotch demanded, "And I won't shoot you."

The UnSub laughed. "You think you can tell me what to do?" he taunted, pulling Reid closer to him, the knife now resting on the boy's breastbone.

"I know I can," Hotch replied. "You've killed hundreds of people all across the country in the span of 20 years, including a cop. And now you have a Federal Agent at your mercy, so you decide to taunt me with his life. You have nerve, you realize that."

"I did it all for you," the UnSub hissed, stroking Reid face with his free hand; Reid struggled again, grunting his displeasure. "And Detective Spicer, of course. Shame he had to go like that, when the fun was just beginning."

"What fun?" Hotch hissed.

The UnSub smiled. "_This_ fun." He replied, aiming the knife for his latest victim's throat.

A gunshot cracked off in the night, making everyone in the street jump. The knife fell from the UnSub's hand and he slumped forward, clearly dead. As Hotch lowered his gun, Prentiss ran forward, retrieving her battered teammate from under the man's corpse.

Hotch looked up to see Morgan holstering his still-smoking gun. He didn't say anything, just nodded. Morgan waited for his team leader to turn his back before getting in a couple good kicks at the UnSub's dead body.

Then, Morgan walked over to Prentiss and Reid. She had just pulled his tie from his mouth and was undoing the handcuffs while he leaned on her shoulder, gulping deep gasping breaths of relief.

"You alright?" Morgan asked when Prentiss had finished, concern in his voice.

Reid glanced at him for a moment before nodding. "Yeah…" he muttered. "I wanted to stop him from hurting Ellie, so I let him catch me. I was hoping you'd be nearby, and come quickly. Ellie made a lot of noise when she was running away," he paused, wiping at his bleeding forehead with his free hand. "Whatever happened to calling me 'Pretty Boy,' though?" he added.

"Right now, I'm just glad you're alive, Kid," Morgan replied, wrapping his arms around Reid's shoulders, the light of the rising sun lightening the sky just over the eastern horizon above them.

Later that morning they would run their UnSub's dental records and prints through the system, and come upon one Billy Flynn, a sad man who had lived his life with no education, his only companion being the open road, and the people he hunted. After the case was officially closed, Detective Kurzbard would officially retire, claiming old age.

Reid and Morgan would both be rushed to the hospital to join Rossi. Ellie would be reunited with her aunt when she arrived at the hospital with the two agents, situated in the ambulance they all arrived in together.

But for now, it didn't matter. None of it did.

The dawn had come.

….

_A/N: I warned you about the whump! And yes, it's very duifficult to write whump when your desktop photo is MGG. ...It's also hard to read Harry whump when you have a poster of Daniel on your wall. :)_

_Anyway, the next and final chapter will be posted for sure by Wednesday night, so you can read my little story, then turn around and watch what really happens! I'm dying to see what'll happen... And what secrets will be in store for them! I LOVE SECRETS! :D :D :D _

_Please review! And PLEASE check out some of my other stories..._

_*~N_CBAU~*_


	6. Epilogue: Day

_**Only 24 hours to go! **_

_**Did anyone hear about that Superman movie that Matthew was just cast in? I am quite literally jumping out of my seat with joy at this announcement (And I'm more of a Spider Man and Batman fan). All I really know is that it's call 'All-Star Superman,' and that MGG has recently been cast as Jimmy Olsen.**_

…_**and the fan girls can freak out now! **commences fan girl squealing****_

_**Again, I own nothing pertaining to the Criminal Minds fanbase, universe, or canon. I'm just goofing off with the characters while riding a new episode withdrawal (Which will end tomorrow thankfully). **_

….

_Day is a snow-white Dove of heaven that from the East glad message brings. ~ __Thomas Bailey Aldrich_

12 hours later the team sat on the jet, riding home at last. JJ was pouring over some case files, intent on their contents. In the back of the plane, Prentiss was reading a book, but paying no attention to it; she merely flipped pages to pass the time. Reid was at the coffee maker, pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee. Rossi and Hotch were both asleep on either side of the isle in the front of the plane.

Morgan sat by himself, his earphones shoved into his ears, but no music playing. Instead, he stared out the window, clearly lost in thought. He thought about the last case, the UnSub, Spicer, Kristin, Reid, Ellie….

"You know," a voice said suddenly, making Morgan jump. "It's always good to just talk about it."

The older black man looked to see his younger friend and fellow profiler sitting across from him, a cup of coffee clenched tightly in his bandaged hand. The only reason they had left Los Angeles so late in the day was because the local hospital was loathe to get rid of Reid; to say the nurses had doted on the kid was a severe understatement.

Flynn had done a number on the younger man; he was bruised as well as cut up. His hair had been unevenly cut; there was a scratch on his upper lip, and stitches closing up the cuts that ran up and down his arms. There was also a long scratch across Reid's face, complete with butterfly stitches stripped across it.

Morgan glanced again at his colleague. "Talk about what?"

Reid gestured to the space between them. "What happened to us," he said, as though he was talking to a young child. "We both know that Billy Flynn isn't the first UnSub to get the better of us, and if you ask me, he won't be the last."

"But what he did to us, you especially," Morgan began, but Reid held up his hand.

"Morgan, what he did to you, and to me, was not your fault," Reid started. "… Tobias took me by surprise in the cornfield in the same way. I heard JJ scream, and all that mattered was her. I didn't think for a moment that he would do something like that… that he was so close…" Reid paused, licking his lips.

"With you," he continued. "All you could concentrate on was Ellie and Kristin. When you saw them, it was all tunnel vision. Flynn was hiding behind the door. He was lying in wait, and you had no idea."

"I should've known," Morgan whispered. "If I had, none of that would've happened. Spicer'd still be alive. And if we'd been there sooner, you wouldn't look like that."

Without another word, the younger man gripped the hand of the older man.

"There wasn't much else either of us could've done," Reid whispered. "It was part of what he'd wanted. Either way, someone was going to die last night. And I wish it wasn't Spicer. He didn't deserve to die… And leave Ellie. The little girl doesn't deserve that." Reid let go of Morgan's hand, settling his own into his lap, staring at them, the stark white bandages that stood out against his already pale skin. "No one deserves to grow up without a father."

Morgan nodded. "No one does," he agreed, setting his hand facedown onto the wooden table for a moment before tapping it twice and standing up. "But sometimes, the best thing any of us can do is to live our life in the best way we can, remembering those who left it, and living the way they would've wanted us to live."

Reid looked up, watching the older man make his way to the back of the plane before going back to looking at his folded hands, a small smile lighting up his otherwise grim face.

_Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. ~ Mark Twain_

….

_A/N: Next stop: The Season 6 Premiere! I hope you're all totally psyched; I definitely am!_

_Thanks to all my awesome readers, reviewers and the people who alerted and added this story to their favorites. If it wasn't for your interest, this probably would've died by about the third chapter, and never would've gotten done. And now here we are… So thank you! _

_I really dunno how much longer any of us can wait… Hopefully I won't become frenzied and overly vicious by 8:00 PM this Wednesday night._

_*~N_CBAU~*_


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